Little Egrets

I came across a large flock of 19 Little Egrets late one afternoon recently (12/11/2019) at Moyviddy, Grange, Newcastle West, Co. Limerick.  Some of the birds were feeding on a flooded field beside the River Deel initially, however all but one of the birds ended up perched on a riverside tree in what looked like a pre-roost gathering.  Amazingly an even bigger flock of at least 30 birds was seen in the same area the following day by Andrew Holmes. This is the largest flock of this species seen in Limerick and interestingly John N Murphy had another 13 birds at Newbridge 13km to the north on the same day.

I returned with camera at the ready on 14/11/2019 and found 14 birds still in the area.

 

Bonaparte's Gull

Jeff Copner found a very smart looking adult summer Bonaparte's Gull at Clahane, Liscannor, Co. Clare in early August.  I caught up with it at the end of the month (26/8/2019) at Liscannor Harbour.  I had previously seen this American species in winter plumage, so I was pleased to see that it was still retaining much of its breeding plumage. Young birders Brian McCloskey and Cathal Forkan were on it when I arrived.

Bonaparte's Gull with Black-headed Gull

Brian and Cathal had also picked up an adult winter Mediterranean Gull.  It's a scarce but regular species in the mid west so it's always nice to come across one locally.

Bonaparte's Gull with Mediterranean Gull

 

Long-eared Owls

I was fortunate enough to have a family of Long-eared Owls near home in Castletroy this summer.  I had a adult male calling briefly from a tree in my garden in Spring 2018 and also had an adult bird carrying prey in mid May this year, so I wasn't altogether surprised to hear juveniles calling nearby on May 30th. It turned out that the young birds had already fledged by that time. They stayed in the locality for the month of June and could be heard calling on most evenings.

Kumlien's Iceland Gull

2nd winter Kumlien's Iceland Gull found at O'Callaghan's Strand, Limerick City on 10/02/2019.

Update 18/2/19

Latest photo taken on 18/2/2019

The photos below were taken on 10/2/2019

At least one other white-winged gull was also present.  It looks like a 1st winter Iceland Gull but has a pale iris, a feature normally acquired in the 2nd winter/2nd summer period.  It also has a relatively long bill and relatively short wing projection and looks to be about Herring Gull size. The possibility of a hybrid cannot be ruled out.

The shots below were also taken at the same location. The bird in these looks more like an Iceland Gull in structure.

Loop Head in Autumn

October 15th, 2018 was a fine day at Loop Head, Co. Clare.  The weather turned out warm, dry and  sunny in the afternoon, with a southeasterly air flow, good conditions for attracting daytime migrants.  I spent the day there with Murf and a few other Clare birders who dropped in from time to time.

The day started well with a female Hen Harrier near the Lough and a Wheatear in the fields to the east. I checked the flocks of Golden Plover in the same area and also at Ross hoping to catch up with the long-staying adult American Golden Plover (AGP) but drew a blank.  

A pair of Buzzards heading eastwards over Kilbaha village at lunch time afternoon was a nice surprise and indication of more to come. I spent the mid afternoon checking the village gardens along with Murf for the long staying Red-breasted Flycatcher.  It hadn't been seen for a few days but eventually showed up in overgrown hedges/grove at Costello's.

Red-breasted Flycatcher

This grove proved to be a hive of activity and kept drawing us back every time we resolved to leave. We counted at least six Chiffchaffs, several Goldcrests and Collared Doves along with the Flycatcher.  We were eventually rewarded with some views of a Garden Warbler, a scarce migrant at Loop Head.  

Garden Warbler

Chiffchaff

We eventually caught up with the moulting adult AGP in the company of a Goldie flock at Fodry in the late afternoon.  The flock was nervously watching out for a nearby Peregrine and didn't seem to mind our approach.

American Golden Plover

AGP (right) with Golden Plover

AGP

Leaving Fodry we came across two groups of three Buzzards drifting down the peninsula.  Buzzards are an increasingly common sight now in the west of Ireland and are regular visitors to Loop Head in the autumn but the eight birds (minimum) that we encountered is a record number for the area.

 

 

Later in the day we got nice views of Snipe in the pond at Kilbaha as the tide filled it up. The birds sat out in the open, clearly confident of their camouflaged plumaged as they sat on the seaweed.